» Daniel Sr. and Maribel Hidalgo are parents of two sons and two daughters who excel in basketball at Frontier Academy and Greeley Central.

» The sibling quartet has formed a common bond over the sport.

» Zach is a 19-year-old, 6-foot-5 senior at Frontier Academy. He averages 26 points per game, ninth most in the state regardless of classification and he recently passed the 1,000 career point milestone for his four years of high school.

» Naomi is a 17-year-old, 5-foot-11 junior at Greeley Central. She averages 17 points and eight rebounds per game and is closing in on 1,000 career points.

» Micaela is a 14-year-old, speedy 5-foot-5 freshman for Greeley Central and is already a starter.

» Daniel Jr. is a 13-year-old, 5-foot-6 seventh-grader at Frontier and hopes to follow in his big brother Zach’s footsteps as a standout in high school.

Among his three basketball-loving siblings, Daniel Hidalgo's allegiance when it comes to NBA teams sticks out like a sore thumb.

He's a Golden State Warriors fan — more specifically, a Kevin Durant fan.

His older brother and two older sisters are Cleveland Cavalier fans — more specifically, LeBron James fans.

So on Christmas morning, when his Warriors edged the Cavs, Daniel soaked in the moment. He claims he wasn't overzealous with his gloating, but he definitely soaked in the moment.

The fact the four Hidalgo children were spending a good chunk of their Christmas watching basketball is no surprise. What's somewhat surprising is they weren't playing basketball themselves.

They're seemingly always playing basketball.

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When they're not playing basketball, they're watching basketball, or talking basketball.

The Hidalgos have no shortage of common bonds. But, few, if any, bring them together quite like basketball does — even if young Daniel stubbornly refuses to fall in line with his family full of Cavs fans.

Naomi admitted when she, her two brothers and younger sister converse — during dinner, on Sunday afternoons, during holidays — it normally doesn't take long for the conversation to shift to hoops.

"It turns toward basketball pretty fast," she said.

Zach, 19, is a 6-foot-5 senior at Frontier Academy and is unquestionably the best player on the Wolverines' boys basketball team (5-2). He averages 26 points per game, ninth most in the state regardless of classification, and he recently passed the coveted 1,000 career point milestone for his four years of high school.

Naomi, 17, is a 5-foot-11 junior at Greeley Central and is the best player on the Wildcats' vastly improved girls basketball team (6-2), averaging 17 points and eight rebounds per game.

Micaela, 14, is a speedy 5-foot-5 freshman on that same Greeley Central girls team and is already a starter in the backcourt.

Daniel, 13, is a 5-foot-6 seventh-grader at Frontier and hopes to one day follow in his big brother's footsteps as a standout in high school — even if he doesn't follow in the rest of his siblings' footsteps when it comes to picking a favorite NBA team.

The Hidalgo parents — Daniel Sr. and Maribel — were never especially passionate about basketball; at least not like their kids are.

As busy as basketball has kept their kids, in many ways, it has kept Maribel and Daniel Sr. just as busy, especially with two kids playing hoops at one school while the other two play at another school.

Yet, having basketball in their kids' lives has been a blessing, Maribel said. As their kids reach ages in which close-knit siblings can sometimes drift apart, the sport has only brought the Hidalgo children closer.

"It's been wonderful," Maribel said. "It's definitely brought them together, brought them closer. I'll hear them talk about their experiences and their games. They are just able to relate and understand each other."

Discovering the passion

The Hidalgo children's infatuation began when Zach first started playing competitively as a youngster.

When he was a child, he began playing for coaches Phil Gallardo and Xzaivier James on the Colorado W.A.R. club team.

"Honestly, it was just another sport for another kid to try," Zach said. "And I just fell in love with it."

Zach heavily credits James and Gallardo for introducing him to the sport and planting the seeds for the player he is today. Each of his three younger siblings also played for Gallardo and James, laying their foundation in a way similar to that of their older brother.

Naomi gravitated toward the sport soon after Zach began playing for Colorado W.A.R.

When she was in fourth grade, she would attend Zach's practices. While the boys practiced on one side of the court, Naomi would casually pick up a basketball and begin shooting on the other side.

Ultimately, she shed any bashfulness she may have had, stuck her nose right in and began playing with the boys, no matter how physical the action became.

"Coach Phil one day was like, 'Why don't you just practice with us?,' " Naomi recalls. "Ever since then, (Zach and I) have been super close. And, we've been playing basketball all the time."

Even though Naomi admits she hated losing against Zach when they played one on one, she said her early days playing against boys helps her to this day. She is a lethal post player who never shies away from contact in the glorified mosh pit that is the low post.

Following in footsteps

While the Hidalgos have an ever-so-slightly divided house when it comes to the Cavaliers and Warriors, college basketball is a different story.

The University of Kansas is their favorite college team, no questions asked.

One of Naomi's dreams is to someday make a trip to Lawrence, Kan., and watch the Jayhawks play within the high-octane atmosphere of Allen Fieldhouse.

She and her siblings respect and admire the constant success Kansas has had and the rich basketball tradition such success has bred.

Yet, whether it be college or the NBA, the Hidalgos don't watch basketball quite like your typical fan.

They watch with a more analytical eye. Like the dedicated students they are, they're constantly looking for elements they can add to their own skillsets.

"After a game, one time my brother (Zach) told me, 'Oh, look up Chris Paul, because you play just like him,' " Micaela said.

Micaela heeded her older brother's advice and has already implemented little quirks of the shifty future NBA Hall of Famer's vast treasure chest of talents into her own speed-based game.

Her father, the elder Daniel, describes her as "natural athlete". Everything she tries to do on the basketball court, she immediately does well.

So, it's no surprise, as a mere freshman, she has been a starter from Day 1 and an instant contributor for a Greeley Central team in the midst of one of its best seasons in program history.

Naomi admits she beams with pride, and maybe even marvels a bit, at how good Micaela is so soon in her high school career.

Then again, Naomi wasn't the least bit shabby herself when she averaged team-highs of 14.1 points and one block, along with 7.1 rebounds, per game as a freshman two years ago.

Though Micaela isn't exactly the same player Naomi was when she entered high school — Naomi was nearly a half-foot taller and much more of a presence in the post — Micaela has followed in her older sister's footsteps in every other conceivable way.

Like Naomi, Micaela even opted to go to Central — rather than Frontier, which they attended up until high school — as it gives them the chance to play for coach Juliet Sheets, whom they played club ball for.

Much as Micaela has taken a path into high school similar to that of her older sister, Daniel has a eye on following in the footsteps of his older brother, Zach — even though when he closes his eyes and daydreams, he pictures himself as the next Durantula rather than envisioning himself as the next King James like Zach does.

Daniel may already be developing the best sense of humor of the bunch — evident when he playfully jabbed at his older siblings while the Warriors shook off an early deficit and pulled away from the Cavs late in their Christmas Day game.

And, though he won't have the luxury of playing on the same high school team as his older sibling — like Naomi and Micaela are doing — he has every intention of ultimately being the same impact player Zach currently is for the Wolverines.

"It's cool to think that I'll be there (in high school) in a few years," Daniel said. "Seeing (Zach succeed), I know I can do the same."

The Hidalgos and hoops

» Daniel Sr. and Maribel Hidalgo are parents of two sons and two daughters who excel in basketball at Frontier Academy and Greeley Central.

» The sibling quartet has formed a common bond over the sport.

» Zach is a 19-year-old, 6-foot-5 senior at Frontier Academy. He averages 26 points per game, ninth most in the state regardless of classification and he recently passed the 1,000 career point milestone for his four years of high school.

» Naomi is a 17-year-old, 5-foot-11 junior at Greeley Central. She averages 17 points and eight rebounds per game and is closing in on 1,000 career points.

» Micaela is a 14-year-old, speedy 5-foot-5 freshman for Greeley Central and is already a starter.

» Daniel Jr. is a 13-year-old, 5-foot-6 seventh-grader at Frontier and hopes to follow in his big brother Zach’s footsteps as a standout in high school.